SAN DIEGO, March 9 /PRNewswire/ -- NaviCyte, Inc., a wholly-owned
subsidiary of Trega Biosciences, Inc. (Nasdaq: TRGA), announced today that it
has entered into an agreement with Schering-Plough Corporation to collaborate
on the use and development of NaviCyte's proprietary Pk-informatics tools to
identify new candidates for drug development. Schering-Plough joins
SmithKline Beecham, Genentech, and Parke-Davis as the fourth member of
NaviCyte's IDEA(TM) Consortium to predict ADME characteristics of drugs, in
silico.
Under the terms of the agreement, Schering-Plough will provide data and
make initial and milestone payments over the course of the further development
of NaviCyte's proprietary In Vitro Determination for Evaluation of Adsorption
(IDEA)(TM) simulation software system and database. NaviCyte will license to
Schering-Plough its software and computational models for use with
Schering-Plough compound libraries.
ADME, which stands for absorption, distribution, metabolism, and
excretion, encompasses the field of pharmacokinetics (Pk). Pk screening is
currently a bottleneck in the drug development process, yet it represents a
critical selection criterion for clinical drug candidates. NaviCyte's
Computational Pharmacokinetics(TM), Pk-Informatics(TM), and High Throughput
Pharmacokinetic Screening (HTPkS)(TM) systems are intended to enable early and
high throughput Pk characterization of drug candidates, while at the same time
improving the predictive capability of Pk characterization for later animal
and human clinical studies. NaviCyte's IDEA(TM) Simulation Software is
designed to enable the prediction of pharmacokinetic outcomes in humans and
animals from in-vitro measurements that can be generated using NaviCyte's
HTPkS(TM) systems.
"We welcome Schering-Plough to our growing IDEA(TM) Consortium," said Dr.
George Grass, president of NaviCyte. "The interest in our Consortium and
informatics products over the past few years confirms the strong need for
comprehensive solutions to ADME characterization. ADME characterization does
not have to be a bottleneck in drug selection, but can actually accelerate the
drug discovery and development process by improving the early selection
criteria for clinical drug leads. NaviCyte's products and services enable
research organizations to accomplish that goal."
Schering-Plough is a research-based company engaged in the discovery,
development, manufacturing and marketing of pharmaceutical and health care
products worldwide.
NaviCyte, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Trega Biosciences, Inc. and
offers its Computational Pharmacokinetics(TM) technology through proprietary
High Throughput Pharmacokinetic Screening (HTPkS)(TM) systems,
Pk-Informatics(TM) software tools, and consulting expertise to its partners
and customers to facilitate the rapid screening of drug candidates for
pharmacokinetic characteristics.
Trega Biosciences is a drug discovery company, utilizing combinatorial
chemistry and selection technologies to pursue the discovery of novel,
small-molecule drug therapies. The company provides drug discovery products
and services to pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. It also enters
into pharmaceutical alliances, which provide partners with access to Trega's
technologies in exchange for licensing fees and potential milestones and
royalties, or by establishing joint-discovery alliances with pharmaceutical
and biotechnology companies. Trega also uses its drug discovery technologies
in its internal development programs, which are currently focused on
discovering small molecules acting on melanocortin receptors for the treatment
of inflammatory and metabolic diseases. Melanocortins are a class of
receptors which may be important in the treatment of inflammatory and
metabolic diseases.
Except for the historical information contained herein, the matters
discussed in this news release are forward-looking statements that involve
risks and uncertainties, including whether the Company's resources are
sufficient to enable it to reach its business objectives, any research to be
conducted as described will be successful, any additional collaborations or
alliances will be agreed to, formed or expanded, whether regulatory approvals
can be obtained for products discovered and developed, if any, whether any
such products can be successfully marketed, the impact of competitive products
and pricing, in marketing success, whether any other corporate collaborations
or alliances will be successful, and other risks detailed from time to time in
Trega's Securities and Exchange Commission filings. These forward-looking
statements represent Trega's judgment as of the date of this release. Actual
results may differ materially from those projected. Trega disclaims, however,
any intent or obligation to update these forward-looking statements.
Trega's releases are on the World Wide Web at trega.com and PR
Newswire's fax-on-demand service at 1-800-758-5804, extension 374050.
SOURCE NaviCyte, Inc.
-0- 03/09/99
/CONTACT: Vince Reardon, Director, Corporate Communications of Trega
Biosciences, Inc., 619-410-6555/
/Company News On-Call: prnewswire.com or fax,
800-758-5804, ext. 374050/
/Web site: trega.com
(TRGA)
CO: NaviCyte, Inc.; Trega Biosciences, Inc.; Schering-Plough Corporation
ST: California
IN: MTC
SU: CON
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A.G. |
